Morocco

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Morocco’s massive solar plant unveiled in the Sahara desert

On the 4th of February, the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, was leading the opening ceremony of the first plant of the Ouarzazate solar complex, the Noor I concentrating solar power (CSP) project. Half a million parabolic mirrors are heating a liquid, which will, with the steam produced, activate power turbines and create energy. For read more…

Written on 18th September 2015

The road towards COP21: an overview of INDCs from the MENA region

On September 16th Tunisia was the fourth country of the MENA region to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) in view of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP21) to be held in Paris this December. Morocco has been the first country of the region to contribute submitting its INDC in June, followed by read more…

Written on 28th July 2015

Renewable energy deployment in the MENA: a regional overview

The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region is characterised by a large availability of fossil fuel reserves, albeit unevenly distributed among the countries, and a high potential of renewable energy (RE) use, especially solar power. Although countries present large differences in terms of economic status, political conditions and resource availability, a shift towards clean read more…

The line chart shows the country’s carbon emissions by year, expressed in million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) for emission totals, and in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) for per capita and per dollar of GDP values. It is based on data from CAIT platform provided by the World Resource Insititute, and updated regularly with the most recent data available.

By selecting or deselecting each item, you can compare or give prominence to particular emission trends.

Energy

Energy Source

Production (ktoe)

TPES (ktoe)

Coal

0

3024,133

Oil

6,51

12701,798

Natural gas

67,479

1067,086

Nuclear

0

0

Hydro

140,266

140,266

Geothermal

0

0

Solar thermal

0

0

Solar photovoltaics

0

0

Tide, wave, ocean

0

0

Wind

62,608

62,608

Biomass

1385,756

1385,756

Biofuels

0

0

Waste

0

0

The double-doughnut chart shows the country’s energy production and TPES (Total Primary Energy Supply), expressed in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). It is built on data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development/International Energy Agency libraries, and updated regularly with the most recent data available.

The INNER RING represents the country’s energy production from each energy source, corresponding to the quantities of fuels extracted or produced.

The OUTER RING shows the country’s total primary energy supply of each fuel. It represents the net quantities of fuels made available on the domestic market, after foreign transfers and trading. According to IEA’s definition, TPES equals production plus imports minus exports minus international bunkers plus or minus stock changes.

Differences between production and TPES are significant as they highlight the actual country’s behaviour in the matter of a given energy source. Production values and TPES values of the same energy source may vary widely, especially in case of the much-traded fossil fuels.

Energy data refers to year 2012.

National Policy

Characterized by a large availability of renewable sources and a scarcity of fossil reserves, the Kingdom of Morocco is one of the pioneers of the region of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with regard to renewable energy (RE) development. Key features of the country include a strong dependence on fossil fuels, primarily coal and oil; a stable political landscape, in stark contrast to the turmoil affecting other regional actors; a steadily increasing energy demand caused by economic growth.

Fossil fuel imports constitute a main feature of the energy system, accounting for ca. 95 percent of its energy supply. Moreover, a limited installed capacity facing growth in demand forced the country to import electricity from abroad. This results in very high costs for the public administration, which sees energy independence as a top national priority to be achieved through a diversification of the energy mix that implies large investments in renewables.

Climate Change

Framework Law 99-12 (2014)

The Law is the result of a multi-stakeholder consultation that was launched to address the issues of climate change, sustainable development and environment protection, implementing the measures outlined in the National Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development published in 2012. The document provides a legislative framework for environmental regulation, assigning rights, duties and responsibilities of stakeholders. With this regard, a mechanism for environmental damage compensation is outlined. Environmental governance is enhanced through a list of institutional, economic and financial measures that are meant to bring coherence and efficiency to government actions. The law identifies sustainable development as a core value to be pursued in public policies. Authorities in various sectors of the economy are responsible for taking action in order to enhance sustainability in their fields of competence.

More information available on Global Climate Legislation Study’s Morocco country profile (see below).

National Plan of Action against Climate Change (PNRC) (2009)

First presented during the COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, the PNRC defines a number of mitigation and adaptation measures to address the issue of climate change. An overview of current emissions and projected climate impacts is included in the Plan. It also establishes various research projects strengthening the climate change measures. Renewable energy for electricity and energy efficiency are the fields mainly targeted by the mitigation measures, and include actions in the sectors of energy demand and supply, transportation, industry, waste, agriculture, forestry and construction. Adaptation measures target weather forecast, water, agriculture, forestry, desertification, fisheries, public health and tourism. Sector-specific strategies have been issued in complementarity to the PNRC.

Adaptation

The most prominent adaptation measures promoted in the PNRC (see above) relate to climate change issues in agriculture, coastal zones and water scarcity. The measures aim to improve the resilience and variety of the crops, use more efficient agricultural practices, provide financial incentives for sustainable farming and water savings, build barriers to protect from the rising sea level, raise awareness about water conservation, build new dams and wells, enhance water recycling.

Besides the PNRC, the Adaptation to Climatic Change in Morocco for Resilient Oasis (PACC/Oasis) project, carried out between 2009 and 2012 through a collaboration with various international countries and institutions, was launched with the purpose of improving local adaptation measures and reduce climate change risks.

More information available on Global Climate Legislation Study’s Morocco country profile (see below).

Energy

Subsidy Removal Programme (2013)

In order to tackle growing budget deficit generated by extensive subsidization of fossil fuels, Morocco launched a response measure in 2013. The programme set a roadmap for capping or removing energy subsidies on different fuels and introduced an indexation system to align fuel prices to international prices. The programme brought Moroccan energy prices higher than the MENA average, removing to a large extent the market distortion from the energy subsidies.

More information available on RCREEE’s report AFEX 2015: Renewable Energy (see below) and in IMF’s report Subsidy Reform in the MENA (in pdf format): IMF_Subsidy reform in the MENA (2014)

Law 47-09 on Energy Efficiency (2011)

The law defines a number of provisions in relation to energy efficiency. It introduces standards of minimum energy performance for appliances and electrical devices. Moreover, it states that companies in the energy sector are to undergo mandatory energy audits, while new constructions and urban projects require an energy impact study on energy performance.

More information available on Global Climate Legislation Study’s Morocco country profile (see below).

Law 13-09 on Renewable Energies (2010)

The law provides a framework for development of renewable energy production, enacting a regulation with regard to third-party RE production and grid access conditions. It ensures that medium- and high-voltage grids are accessible for independent power producers (IPPs), within the limits of the network’s technical capacity. IPPs are allowed to directly sell electricity to large consumers without any involvement of the distribution utility and to export RE-sourced electricity through the national grid. Large-scale project are therefore highly encouraged, also due to the fact that the law does not set any capacity limits to RE projects. On the other hand, since RE producers have no access to the low-voltage grid, the law does not support the deployment of small-scale solar PV.

In parallel to the enactment of the RE Law, a series of legislative acts established institutions to support the attainment of the RE targets for 2020: ADEREE (National Agency for Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency), SIE (Energy Investment Society), and MASEN (Moroccan Solar Energy Agency).

The three main objectives of this strategy are to attain energy mix diversification, security of supply and access to energy for all. Great prominence is given to the development of renewable sources, especially hydro, wind and solar. A target for 2020 aims to meet 42 percent of electricity needs with renewables, equally divided between the aforementioned RE sources. This corresponds to an installed capacity of 2 GW for each of the three energy types and to producing 10-12 percent of the primary energy by 2020.

Besides RE development, the strategy aims to spur foreign investments in the energy sector, to promote regional integration and to make energy efficiency a national priority, setting energy savings targets of 12 percent by 2020 and 15 percent by 2030.

More information available on Global Climate Legislation Study’s Morocco country profile (see below).

AFOLU

Within the National Plan of Action against Climate Change (see above) are included a series of measures to reduce GHG emissions caused by agriculture and deforestation. These comprise improving agricultural land efficiency, recovering methane from manure, and a certification scheme for sustainable farming.

Morocco Green Plan (2009)

This strategy targeting the agricultural sector includes measures encouraging sustainable growth through sustainable management of natural resources and including human development objectives among key requirements. The plan is developed on seven key components on which the strategy is based.

More information available on the Ministry of Agricultural Development website (in French)

Waste

National Household Waste Programme (PNDM) (2008)

The programme set a target of household waste collection rate in urban areas of 90 percent by 2020 and 100 percent by 2030. In addition, it sets some provisions for regulating landfills, enhancing recycling practices to achieve a 20 percent rate by 2020, raising awareness among the public about waste issues.

References

Solar Energy development in Morocco (2013), Library Briefing from the European Parliament (pdf)

International Policy

General features

Party to the UNFCCC (Non-Annex I):

Date of signature: 13 June 1992
Date of ratification: 28 December 1995
Date of entry into force: 27 March 1996

Member of the Kyoto Protocol:

Date of signature: n/a
Date of ratification: 25 January 2002
Date of entry into force: 16 February 2005

Signatory of the Copenhagen Accord

European cooperation projects, at both the bilateral and the multilateral level, compose a very important contribution to the development of the Moroccan energy sector. Bilateral cooperation is organized through institutions such as the European Investment Bank (EIB), which provides financial support for the realization of the Moroccan Solar Plan as a part of the NES strategy, and the European Commission, which has various research and innovation programmes supporting and promoting technical solutions to lower energy consumption. Under the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Morocco received substantial funds to improve its economic and political setup. Additional bilateral agreements have been signed with individual member states, in particular Germany, Spain, Italy and France.

Multilateral cooperation takes the form of regional projects. One of the most highlighted projects is the Mediterranean Solar Plan, addressing government and ministries for the development of framework conditions for large-scale RE deployment and EE measures in the Mediterranean. However, the project suffers from political deadlock and it is unclear when it will provide practical benefits.

Outside of the EU, Morocco is engaged with the World Bank in a partnership for the launch of a domestic carbon market, which should occur in 2018. The country is also very active in CDM projects and has benefitted from a large number of these.

Negotiating position

Morocco proved to be an active player when it comes to climate change, as can be observed from the submission of an ambitious INDC ahead of COP21.

As a part of G77 and China and the League of Arab States, it generally follows their position in international talks. However, being a country without fossil fuel reserves, does not share the same concerns of OAPEC members.

Contacts

ICCG

Island of San Giorgio Maggiore 8

I-30124Venice
, Italy

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